Restraining vest



Aug. 9, 1966 B. JILLSON RESTRAINING VEST g Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1 1, 1964 FIE--1- INVENTOR. BETTY J/LLSON ATTORNEY A 9, 1966 B. JILLSON 3,265,065

RESTRAINING VEST Filed Aug. 11, 1964 g Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. BETTY JILL SON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,265,065 RESTRAINING VEST Betty Jillson, R0. Box 506, Agnew, Calif. Filed Aug. 11, 1964, Ser. No. 388,764 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-134) This invention relates to restraints and more particularly to a restraining device in the form of a vest adapted to be worn by a person to prevent excessive movement of the person. It will be understood in this connection that it is important to be able to restrain a person such as a patient recovering from surgery or one who is mentally ill or senile. It is also important that such restraint be exercised so as not to injure the patient as by impairing his circulation or causing strangulation.

One of the greatest problems in reducing freedom of a patient is to provide a means that provides adequate restraint, thus preventing. movement beyond a predetermined amount, and at the same time providing sufficient comfort to the patient to eliminate any desire to oppose the restraint thus causing injury to himself.

The main object of the present invention is the provision of .a restraint in the form of a vest that can be applied to the torso of a person so as to effectively hold the person in one position and at the same time permit a limited movement which prevents the patient panicking and which holds the body of the patient in such a manner that there is no tightening effect which might impair the persons circulation or otherwise cause him injury. It has been found that any restraint which tends to tighten on a patients body when the patient attempts to move is likely to cause extreme anxiety if not panic and result in the patient frantically attempting to break away from this restraint thus causing additional injury.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a restraining vest which may be employed to restrain a patient either in a bed or in a chair in such a manner that there is no possibility of the patient freeing himself and at the same time considerably reducing any tendency of the patient to fight the restraint and thus cause himself injury by impairment of circulation or by strangulation.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a body restraint in the form of a vest which does not have the fear provoking characteristics of prior art restraints and has a form more in the nature of a conventional garment so as not to induce fear in the patient that would cause him to fight the restraint.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the preferred form of the invention showing the same in its expanded condition.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the garment when the same is used in the preferred manner and as worn 'by the patient.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing an alternative method of running the belts.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the garment of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective showing schematically the use of the invention on a bed patient.

FIG. 6 is a perspective showing the use of the invention on a patient in a sitting position.

In detail, and first with reference to FIG. 1, the preferred form of the invention comprises a back portion 1 and a pair of front sections 2, 3 in continuation of back portion 1 and which front sections are adapted to be received around the front of the patient when the garment is worn. In construction the front sections 2, 3 are conveniently secured to the back portion 1 by overlapping them with the back to provide junctures of double thickness indicated at 4, 5 respectively and which junctures are sewn together as indicated.

Above the junctures 4, 5 are arm openings 6, 7 respectively adapted to receive the arms of the wearer therethrough. The upper junctures 8, 9 above the arm holes and between the back and the front sections may also be formed by folded over portions sewn together in like mannet as junctures 4, 5.

The front sections 2, 3 are generally triangular in form diminishing in vertical extent away from the back 1 and terminating in ends 12, 13. In continuation of said ends 12, 13 are elongated belt sections. These belt sections may be conveniently continued along the front sections and back and stitched thereto so as to enhance the strength of the finished garment. As seen in FIG. I elongated belt sections 14, 16 are provided in continuation of end 12 of the vest while belt sections 15, 17 are provided in continuation of end 13.

It will be noted that belt section 16 continues from end 12 along the lower edge of front section 2 to the side of the garment adjacent juncture 4 and then diagonally upwardly across the back 1 past the juncture 9 above ar-m hole 7 and then along the upper edge of front section 3 and terminating in the belt section indicated at 17. Similarly, the belt section 14 is continuous through the end 12 and is stitched along the upper edge of front section 2 on the opposite side of the garment from belt section 16 and then through the juncture 8 and diagonally downwardly across the back and along the lower edge of front section 3 and terminating in belt section-15.

To facilitate handling the belts above described the belt sections 14, 16 may be sewn together along their lengths to form a double thickness belt A and similarly belt sections 15, 17 may be sewn together to form a unitary belt B. During the following description only belts A and B will be referred to and not the belt section from which they are formed.

At the side portions of the vest defined by the overlapping junctures 4, 5 openings 20, 21 respectively are provided. These openings 20, 21 are formed by omitting the central stitching along the vertical extent of the junctures 4, 5 and providing upper and lower stitching defining the upper and lower ends of the openings. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, when the garment is worn by a person, the front section 3 is folded against the users chest and then the section 2 overlapped thereon so that belt B may be passed through opening 20 from inside the garment to the outside and so that belt A may be passed through opening 21 from the outside to the inside. On opposite sides of a central plane of the back 1 are vertically elongated reinforced openings 24, 25 permitting the belt B to be passed inwardly through opening 24 and outwardly through opening 25 and permitting belt A to be passed outwardly through opening 24 to give the arrangement shown in FIG. 2. This represents the preferred form of the invention and is recommended when time permits the running of the belts as above described. If desired, and especially if time does not permit the complete assembly as above described, the openings 20, 21 are not used and in such a case belt A may be passed inwardly through opening 25 and outwardly through opening 24 while belt B is passed inwardly through opening 24 and outwardly through opening 25. In either event it will be noted that the points of connection of the belts A and B with the vest are points spaced from the central plane of the back 1.

Although securement of the front sections 2, 3 together is not essential to achieve the main objects of the invention, it is desirable to apply elongated strips of pressure securing material such as strips 26, 27 of Velcron or the like. Thus, when the front sections 2, 3 are folded to overlapping position, as above described, the two sections 26, 27 of Velcron secure said sections together as seen in FIG. 4.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 the use of the preferred form of the garment of FIG. 2 is indicated and it will be noted, first with reference to FIG. 5, that when the patient is fiat on his back on a bed the strap B permits limited turning of the patient to the patients left while the strap A in like manner permits limited turning of the patient to the patients right. It will be noted from FIG. 5 that the continued attempt of the patient to roll to his left will not result in tightening of the vest so as to injure the patient and thus cause him to panic. In other words, the restraint acts just like a conventional vest that is secured at the front and as if a separate connection were applied thereto at the opening 25. This result follows whether or not the Velcron or other securing means for the front sections is employed and is attributable to the manner in which the belts are run as shown in FIG. 2. The same result to a lesser degree is achieved by the modified form of FIG. 3. However, in FIG. 3 the tendency for the belts A, B to slip downwardly under the vest as indicated by the position of belt B makes it desirable in the case of violent patients to employ the arrangement of FIG. 2.

It will be noted in FIG. 6 that the tying of the straps to the chair indicated provides sufiicient restraint for the patient to prevent him from standing up and at the same time permits ample turning movement of the patient to prevent injury and panic.

Another advantage of the device as seen in FIG. 5 is that, although an effective restraint is provided, sutficient movement of the patient is still permitted to allow a nurse to change the bed while the patient is under restraint. This, of course, can be accomplished by rolling the patient to one side and then to the other. It will also be noted that even if the patient were able to work his way to the edge of the bed and fall off, the vest structure, providing a complete enclosure as it does, will not cause strangulation or impair circulation of the patient.

It will also be apparent that the restraint may be employed on persons of all sizes since it is self-adjustable.

The very specific description given above of the preferred form of the invention is not to be taken as restrictive as it will be apparent that various modifications in design may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A restraining device comprising:

a main body portion in the form of a vest and including a back and a pair of front sections,

a pair of elongated belts in continuation of said front sections respectively and adapted to extend around said back when said vest is worn by a person,

said back being formed with a pair of back openings each of which receives one of said belts therethrough,

said openings being positioned on opposite sides of, and closely adjacent, the central plane of said back, said vest also being provided with a pair of arm openings between said back and said front sections and being provided with a pair of belt receiving side openings at points below said arm openings respectively.

2. A restraint according to claim 1 wherein one of said belts is adapted to be run from inside said vest through one of said side openings, thence through each of said back openings successively, and wherein the other of said belts is adapted to be run from outside said vest through the other of said side openings and thence through one of said back openings.

3. A body restraint comprising:

a vest including a back and a pair of inner and outer overlapping front sections,

a pair of elongated belts in continuation of said front sections respectively and adapted to extend around said back when said vest is worn by a person,

said vest including a pair of arm openings at the junctures of said back and said pair of front sections,

said back being formed with a pair of first and second back openings respectively positioned on opposite sides of but closely adjacent the central plane of said back,

said vest being formed at the junctures between said back and front sections with third and fourth side openings,

one of said belts being run from said inner front section outwardly through said third side opening, inwardly through said first opening and outwardly through said second opening, the other of said belts being run from said outer front section inwardly through said fourth opening and outwardly through said first opening.

4. A restraint according to claim 3 wherein said front sections are provided with quick detachable elements on their opposed faces for securing said front sections together.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A RESTRAINING DEVICE COMPRISING: A MAIN BODY PORTION IN THE FORM OF A VEST AND INCLUDING A BACK AND A PAIR OF FRONT SECTIONS, A PAIR OF ELONGATED BELTS IN CONTINUATION OF SAID FRONT SECTIONS REPECTIVELY AND ADAPTED TO EXTEND AROUND SAID BACK WHEN SAID VEST IS WORN BY A PERSON, SAID BACK BEING FORMED WITH A PAIR OF BACK OPENINGS EACH OF WHICH RECEIVES ONE OF SAID BELTS THERETHROUGH, SAID OPENINGS BEING POSITIONED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF, AND CLOSELY ADJACENT, THE CENTRAL PLANE OF SAID BACK, SAID VEST ALSO BEING PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF ARM 